Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to improvements to the production, storage, and manipulation of text on a computer or word processor. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to improvements in word processing for creating associations between portions of a document being edited in a word processor and supporting data from other documents.
Users of computer-based word processing software frequently use citations or footnotes to the contents of other documents in order to provide references or support for factual claims. For example, a user may write a report document on a topic that relies on supporting evidence provided in source documents (other documents, websites, and so forth). However, the user may have to manually enter these citations, footnotes, and references which can be laborious and error-prone process. In addition, a reader of the report document may wish to verify statements in the report by directly viewing the supporting evidence provided in any referenced source documents. In such a scenario, the reader may have to manually look up each of the referenced source documents based on the citations, footnotes, and references provided in the report document, which can also be a laborious and time-consuming process.
Furthermore, the drafting of a report document may involve the work of more than one individual. For example, there may be multiple documents prepared by multiple individuals and the multiple documents may be stitched together into a single report document. Furthermore, a report document can go through many drafts and revisions at the hands of many individuals. During this complex writing process, paragraphs frequently get revised and re-ordered. There can be a loss in fidelity on supporting evidence for the claims made in the report document, such that it can be difficult to know if a statement is true, what evidence supports that statement, and where that evidence can be found.